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H-‐1B Overview
for Employees Being Sponsored For H-‐1B Visa Status
Please Read This EnAre PresentaAon This presentaAon provides important informaAon you MUST know during your H-‐1B employment at UT-‐BaEelle (Oak Ridge NaAonal Laboratory (ORNL)): • The procedure by which the Immigra4on Services Office will collect informa4on and documents from you • The 4me and process involved in the Immigra4on Services Office comple4ng the legal process required for
us to prepare your paperwork • The 4me and process involved in filing the pe44on for approval of H-‐1B status with the US Ci4zenship and
Immigra4on Services (USCIS) • The process involved in obtaining your visa stamp from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate During your stay in the U.S., you will need to know the informaAon in this presentaAon to be able to know: • What your H-‐1B Approval and other immigra4on paperwork mean, • How to “stay legal” in the U.S. during your H-‐1B “Authorized Stay,” • Issues that might arise during your employment, and • How to extend your H-‐1B visa status.
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Topics 1. Your Employer: UT-‐BaXelle, LLC (UTB) 2. Background Informa4on About U.S. Visas You Must Know 3. How the ORNL Immigra4on Services Office will Process your Paperwork
• Data-‐Collec4on and our Internal Administra4ve Process • The Paperwork You Will be Issued and What it Means
o Form I-‐797 No4ce of Ac4on • How We Will Send You the Final Approved Visa Documents • Applying For Your Visa Stamp • Entering the United States
4. Maintaining your Status (“Staying Legal”) 5. Traveling Outside the US 6. U.S. Permanent Residence 7. Helpful Informa4on
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UT-‐BaEelle, LLC Scien4sts, researchers, and other professionals coming to Oak Ridge Na4onal Laboratory (ORNL) for employment are sponsored for H-‐1B visa status by UT-‐BaEelle, LLC (UTB). ORNL is a place, not an organizaAon. ORNL is the largest science and energy na4onal laboratory in the Department of Energy System. ORNL is managed by UT-‐BaXelle, a partnership between the University of Tennessee and BaXelle. Lab at a Glance
• Director: Thomas E. Mason • Staff: 4,400 including scien4sts and engineers in more than 100 disciplines • Users and visi4ng scien4sts, annually: 3,200 • Budget: $1.4 billion • Loca4on: In eastern Tennessee, near Knoxville • Established: 1943 as part of the ManhaXan Project • U.S. patents since 2004: 594
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Terms You Should Know
Department of State (DOS): The U.S. government agency that operates U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide. It is responsible for issuing visas. Customs and Border ProtecAon (CBP): The U.S. government agency that interviews foreign na4onals seeking admission to the U.S., either before you enter the U.S. (such as in the airport before departure) or aier arrival here. US CiAzenship and ImmigraAon Services (USCIS): The U.S. government agency that reviews the pe44ons that employers must file to sponsor foreign na4onals for certain types of visa status – including (but not limited to) H-‐1B. Department of Labor (DOL): the U.S. government agency that requires the Labor Condi4on Applica4on (LCA). The LCA provides certain details about the wages and other terms of employment to ensure that the H-‐1B employee is working for equivalent wages and in similar condi4ons as any other employee in that occupa4on and geographic area.
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Nonimmigrants and Authorized Stay
Foreign Na4onals who are permiXed to stay in the U.S. only temporarily (for a few years, or less, and oien with a pre-‐set end date to the stay) are “nonimmigrants”. People who hold H-‐1B visa status in the U.S. are one kind of nonimmigrant. The temporary period of 4me you are permiXed to stay in the U.S. is called your “authorized stay.” Authorized Stay: The period of 4me during which you are permiXed to be in the U.S. and engaged in the ac4vi4es permiXed by your “status.” Begins on the day you physically arrive in the U.S., and ends on the last day you are permiXed to be here. Usually indicated on the I-‐94, either when issued to you at an airport or port-‐of-‐entry, or as incorporated into the H-‐1B Approval No4ce.
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H-‐1B DuraAon H-‐1B status is available for a total of 6 years, with excep4ons: • An individual who is physically IN the U.S. for fewer than 183 days per year has no maximum stay in H-‐1B
status. ⁻ Must carefully document arrivals and departures!
• An individual who is in the U.S. most of the 4me, but has trips outside the U.S., may “recapture” each day spent wholly outside the U.S. ⁻ Such days then are added to the end of the H-‐1B authoriza4on period, such that the individual is
able to be authorized for 365x6 days of H-‐1B presence in the U.S. ⁻ These are called “recapture” pe44ons.
• An individual who has reached a certain point in the employment-‐based permanent residence process is able to con4nue to extending his/her H-‐1B status past the 6th year, for as long as needed un4l (essen4ally) permanent residence is granted (or denied).
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H-‐1B DuraAon versus Your Authorized Stay
• H-‐1B Status is available for up to 6 years (or more) but you will NOT receive an approval of H-‐1B status for 6 years.
• The pe44on will request a start date and end date for your H-‐1B approval period.
– The start date • will be the date listed in your offer leXer, or otherwise agreed to by your supervisor and
recruiter, whenever this can be accommodated.
• If the immigra4on processing will likely take too long, then the Immigra4on Services Office will choose a start date that is reasonable, likely based on current DOL, USCIS and internal ORNL processing 4melines, but that is as close as possible to the desired start date.
– The end date
• Will be the end of your Appointment, as listed in your offer leXer.
• If you are being offered a regular posi4on (non-‐limited term job), then the end date of your H-‐1B status will be up to three years from the start date as dictated by your supervisor.
• If your appointment is extended, or if you are in a regular posi4on, a second H-‐1B pe44on will be filed to “extend” your H-‐1B status.
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Overview of the Legal Process
DOL USCIS DOS CBP
• The Immigra4on Services Office files a Labor Condi4on Applica4on (LCA) with the DOL that sets out details about your wages and certain other terms and condi4ons of employment. • DOL takes roughly 10 business days to process LCAs.
• The Immigra4on Services Office files a pe44on with the USCIS reques4ng it grant approval of the H-‐1B classifica4on, thereby authorizing you to fill the precise job described in the pe44on. • When the USCIS approves the pe44on, it issues a Form I-‐797 No4ce of Ac4on.
• If you are outside of the U.S. , you must visit an Embassy or Consulate for issuance of an H-‐1B visa stamp. • You must take Form I-‐797 No4ce of Ac4on (copy or original) with you to the consular interview.
• When you enter the U.S., you present the H-‐1B visa stamp to the CBP Officer at the airport or port-‐of-‐entry. The Officer issues an I-‐94 Card that grants you H-‐1B status un4l the end date noted on the card (usually electronic now; can print card from any computer).
If you are inside the U.S., the H-‐1B will take effect on whatever start date we list in the pe??on. You do not NEED to leave the U.S.
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H-‐1B Processing by the ImmigraAon Services Office The Immigra4on Services Office has a very heavy workload and we priori4ze in order of need, normally based on arrival dates and/or expira4on dates. • The process involved in obtaining H-‐1B visa status:
o Is set by law, o Involves many departments within ORNL, and o Is largely invisible to the employee.
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The ImmigraAon Services Office Process Ini4ally the Immigra4on Services Office will send you a Visa Services Ques4onnaire to complete and return. Next you will receive 2 email messages generated from our online visa management system (GlobeTroXer). The first message contains:
a. The web address (URL) of the webpage with this Orienta4on that you must access, and b. A user name to access GlobeTroXer to answer ques4ons and upload documents. The messages are
from [email protected]. c. The first message is en4tled “Welcome YOUR NAME.” Sample below:
d. The second message is en4tled “Informa4on you Requested.”
From: [email protected] Sent: 15 July 2012 17:07 To: Sunny Smiles Subject: Welcome Sunny Smiles Dear Sunny, Congratula4ons on your acceptance of a posi4on…….
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The ImmigraAon Services Office Process You must read this document and ensure that you understand its contents. If you have ques4ons about anything in this Overview, please contact me. When you log into GlobeTroXer, you will find links to “QuesAonnaire” and “Required Documents” on the lei side of the screen. The ques5onnaire must be answered in full and ALL required documents must be uploaded.
You can log into GlobeTroXer as oien as needed to answer the ques4ons or submit the required documents. If a document is not available to you in that it cannot be obtained or significant 4me will be spent obtaining it, contact us immediately. Do not waste 4me struggling with this issue without talking to us. The greatest causes for delays in processing by the Immigra4on Services Office are incomplete answers and lack of submission of required documents. Please help us to be our most efficient for you by answering all ques4ons in full and supplying the needed documents.
You must keep the ImmigraAon Services Office apprised of all foreign travel plans.
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The ImmigraAon Services Office Process • Immigra4on Services will review your ques4onnaire and documents as you upload them to
GlobeTroXer. • Once certain internal processing is complete, we will prepare a LCA and file it with the DOL.
• The DOL takes about 10 business days to process an LCA, but this changes widely over 4me, without no4ce.
• Once the LCA is “cer4fied” (approved), we will take the next step, which is to prepare the pe44on and suppor4ng documenta4on for submission to the USCIS. • It takes the Immigra4on Services Office at least a week to complete our prepara4on of
the pe44on and suppor4ng documenta4on, aier the cer4fica4on of the LCA as long as all required documents have been received.
• The pe44on includes government forms, as well as documents rela4ng to ORNL, UTB, and your proposed du4es and responsibili4es. It also must include documenta4on of your educa4on, your CV, and in some cases, your publica4on list.
USCIS Processing • USCIS takes up to six months, on average, to process an H-‐1B pe44on. Time frames are
always subject to change without no4ce.
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Our Internal Procedure Premium Processing • It is possible to request expedited processing, which the USCIS calls “premium processing.” This costs
an addi4onal $1,225 (subject to change) in government filing fees, and requires the comple4on of an addi4onal government form.
• The Premium Processing request can be filed at any 4me while the pe44on is pending with the USCIS.
It does not have to be filed when the pe44on is filed. At ORNL, a business jus5fica5on from the hiring manager must be submiXed to Immigra4on Services for Premium Processing to be considered. The employee may pay for premium processing if expedited processing is for personal reasons or a business jus4fica4on cannot be met.
• Premium Processing “guarantees” that the USCIS will provide an ini4al “response” within 15 calendar
days of receiving the pe44on. A response is either (1) an approval; (2) a “Request for Further Evidence” (RFE) or (3) denial. If an RFE is received, USCIS will issue a final decision on the pe44on within 15 calendar days of receiving our answer to the RFE. Thus, the maximum processing Ame when Premium Processing is requested is 30 days, plus any Ame involved in our collecAng our answer to the RFE. However, the “guarantee” is fairly weak. If the USCIS takes longer than these 4melines, the only consequence it faces is to repay the $1,225 Premium Processing fee. Repayments do not oien occur, but when they do it is common for it to take more than 1 year to be issued.
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Once the USCIS completes processing of the H-‐1B pe44on, a Form I-‐797 Approval No4ce will be issued. This No4ce is sent to ORNL via regular postal mail and takes about 7 business days to arrive.
If you are in the U.S., then the H-‐1B will become effec4ve on the start date listed in the pe44on. You do not need to do anything further.
If you are outside the U.S., then you must apply for a visa stamp with which to enter the U.S. (See the next sec4on of this presenta4on.) Your immediate family (legally married spouse and children (under 21 years of age)) may apply for their H-‐4 “deriva4ve” visa stamps at the same 4me.
Any 4me you leave the U.S. during your H-‐1B employment, you must have a valid and unexpired H-‐1B visa stamp for ORNL in your passport.
Your admission (I-‐94 Card End Date) will be granted only up to the expira4on of your passport (or 6 months prior to its expira4on, depending on your home country). This earlier end date would “trump” the I-‐797 approval period.
Be aware of your passport’s expiraAon date!
Our Internal Procedure
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Visa ApplicaAon If you are outside the U.S. at the 4me the H-‐1B pe44on is approved, or if you have to travel some4me during your H-‐1B employment, you are responsible for applying at a U.S. Consulate for issuance of the H-‐1B visa stamp to authorize your admission to the U.S.
• You must check with the Consulate where you intend to apply to confirm their requirements. • Each Consulate has different local rules and the Immigra4on Services Office cannot, generally,
advise you.
In general, • You must have an unexpired passport to schedule your visa appointment. • You must complete an electronic government form (DS-‐160) online for each person who is seeking
a visa. • Most Consulates have waits ranging from 1 week to 1 month for interviews. • You must take a photocopy or original of the Form I-‐797 Approval No4ce with you to the Consulate
for your visa interview. The Consulate website should say whether the original is required, or whether a photocopy is acceptable. We strongly recommend you also take your CV and publica4on list.
• Issuance of the visa stamp itself normally takes 1 – 2 weeks, but might take up to 1 month. In some cases, processing might take longer.
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Where to Find InformaAon About US Consulates
Please contact the US Embassy or Consulate where you will apply for applica4on instruc4ons. Many of their web pages are listed at hXp://usembassy.state.gov/.
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AdministraAve Processing • Many non-‐U.S. ci4zens must undergo Administra4ve Processing before being issued their visa stamps.
This is a result of U.S. federal law and, as a result, no one can speed up the processing Ame. • The decision whether or not administra4ve processing will apply to you is based on a combina4on of
factors, including: o Your creden4als, educa4on, and/or field of exper4se, o Your na4onality, o Your name, gender, and/or age, o The places you have visited in the past and a variety of other elements.
• Once the decision is made by the Embassy/Consulate that Administra4ve Processing is needed, there is
nothing that can be done un4l the processing is completed. It has been our experience that Administra4ve Processing 4meframes can range from a few days or weeks to several months.
• If, at the conclusion of your interview, the Consular Officer indicates that your visa applica4on will undergo Administra4ve Processing, please let us know.
• Again, ORNL’s Immigra4on Services Office cannot do anything to affect the 4me period for comple4on of Administra4ve Processing.
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Your H-‐1B Approval NoAce Your Pe44on Receipt Number Your Employer The validity period of your approval. If you are outside the U.S., then your Form I-‐797 essen4ally ends here. The boXom of the form is blank. If you are in the U.S. and extending your H-‐1B status, your I-‐797 Approval No4ce will include an I-‐94 Card that shows your new “Authorized Stay.” (See the next slide…)
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H-‐1B Approvals An H-‐1B Approval does not mean you can do anything you want once you arrive in the U.S. The approval is limited to:
• The employer listed in the pe44on and on the I-‐797,
• The du4es listed in the pe44on,
• The physical worksite listed in the pe44on,
• The dates listed in the Form I-‐797.
⁻ WARNING! A later-‐issued I-‐94 trumps the original Form I-‐797!
⁻ If you enter the U.S. and an officer at the port-‐of-‐entry stamps your passport
with an earlier end date than the I-‐797 Approval NoAce, that earlier end date is
now the end of your Authorized Stay. It “trumps” (overrules) the I-‐797. This is
called the Last Ac5on Rule. No5fy Immigra5on Services if this happens!!
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Visa Stamp: Admission document. Presented during admission to the U.S. – irrelevant once IN the U.S. A person may hold mul4ple unexpired visa stamps at any one 4me.
Your Visa Stamp
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I-‐94 Arrival/Departure Record Form I-‐94 is the DHS Arrival/Departure Record issued to aliens who are admiXed to the U.S., who are adjus4ng status while in the U.S., or extending their stay, among other things. CBP will stamp the passport for each traveler to confirm the date of admission and immigra4on status. Travelers arriving by sea or air will retrieve the I-‐94 Arrival Record online at hXps://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html; however, CBP will con4nue to issue a paper I-‐94 Arrival/Departure Record at land ports of entry.
The electronic Form I-‐94 printed from CBP’s website replaces the handwriXen Form I-‐94 and can be used as evidence of lawful admission. A printed electronic Form I-‐94 may also be used to establish eligibility for immigra4on benefits or for evidencing employment authoriza4on eligibility and lawful status. When processing pe44ons and applica4ons for benefits, USCIS will accept photocopies of passport pages that contain an individual’s biographic informa4on, visa and admission stamp in lieu of an electronic Form I-‐94.
For more informa4on, please visit: hXp://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/i94_factsheet_2.pdf
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I-‐94 Card: Issued by the CBP to those arriving to the U.S. via land ports. This is your Admission Number. It is a tracking number that you will need to write on other government forms, such as the I-‐9 Form you complete on your first day of employment This confirms that you were granted H-‐1B status during Admission. This is the end date to your “Authorized Stay.” This is the last day you are permiXed to be in the U.S., unless a pe44on to extend your H-‐1B status is filed.
I-‐94 Paper Card
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Visa Processing and Arrival Please tell the Immigra4on Services Office:
• The date for which your visa appointment is scheduled and at which Embassy or Consulate,
• How the interview proceeded and whether the Consular officer gave you an indica4on of when the visa stamp might be issued,
• When you receive the visa stamp,
• When your flight is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. (if you are traveling from outside the U.S.) or when you an4cipate arriving at ORNL to begin your employment.
• If your visa stamp issuance is delayed past the date on which you had an4cipated beginning your employment, please contact Immigra4on Services to point this out. Certain administra4ve steps have to be coordinated with other departments and we will let them know on your behalf.
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Your First Day at ORNL The Department of Energy requires that all employees, guests, and visitors present proof of idenAty upon arrival at an ORNL Security Checkpoint. Once through the checkpoint and when you arrive at the Visitor Center, each foreign naAonal must show original documents to verify idenAty, ciAzenship, and current immigraAon status (i.e., visa, passport, DS-‐2019, I-‐20, I-‐94, etc.). The I-‐94 should be retrieved from the CBP’s website at hEps://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html before arrival at ORNL, if possible. Normally, employees start their first day of work at ORNL in New Employee Orienta4on (NEO). The date, 4me, and loca4on of NEO will be communicated to you before your arrival at ORNL. Either during NEO or later during your first day at work, a Human Resources Division employee will meet with you to complete documents and forms. Included with these forms will be the Employment Verifica4on Form I-‐9, which is required from all employees regardless of ci4zenship or immigra4on status. To successfully complete this form, you will need proof of iden4ty and document(s) that authorize you to work. Please review the list of acceptable documents to complete the I-‐9 Form at hXp://www.uscis.gov/i-‐9 to ensure you bring the appropriate documents to NEO.
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Maintaining Status (“Staying Legal”)
• To “maintain status” means to ensure that you follow all the applicable laws and rules about your visit to the U.S. It is very important to properly maintain your H-‐1B status. Failure to do so may bar you from returning to the U.S. in the future.
• Maintenance of your visa status is your responsibility. The ORNL Immigra4on Services Office is here to assist you.
• You must:
o Engage in the research ac4vi4es listed in your H-‐1B pe44on. o Not engage in any other ac?vi?es, or at any other worksites. o Not do anything that breaks U.S. law, or which might embarrass UT-‐BaHelle or the U.S.
Departments of Energy or State.
• If your supervisor substan4ally changes your job (changes more than 50% of your du4es), or if you get promoted to move to another job that is more than 50% different from that described in the H-‐1B pe44on, immediately contact the Immigra4on Services Office. We can file an “amended” pe44on that tells the USCIS about the changes and authorizes them.
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Traveling Outside the U.S. If you plan to travel outside the U.S. during your tenure at ORNL, you must contact the ORNL Immigra4on Services Office prior to such travel to determine what documenta4on is necessary for you to be able to re-‐enter (such as a new visa or a confirma?on of employment leHer). Upon your return to the U.S., you must provide the ImmigraAon Services Office with a copy of your new I-‐94 and visa stamp. It may be possible to scan and upload these documents directly to GlobeTroXer. Your Immigra4on Specialist will advise you of the best way to transmit these documents to the Immigra4on Services Office.
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Extending Your Visit at ORNL As men4oned, H-‐1B status is available for roughly 6 years (with excep4ons). • Limited-‐Term Employees (employees who have end dates to their appointments):
If your supervisor wants to extend your H-‐1B approval period, your Division must request a new offer leXer that lists an new Appointment end date. Once the Immigra4on Services Office receives the new offer or invita4on, we will begin processing paperwork to extend your visa.
• Regular Employees (employees whose jobs do not have a preset end date):
Aier receiving authoriza4on from your supervisor, the Immigra4on Services Office will contact you roughly 6 months prior to the expira4on of your current H-‐1B approval, to begin work on the pe44on for extension of your H-‐1B status. (Immigra4on law does not permit submiXal of an extension before six months.)
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Sponsorship for Permanent Residence H-‐1B employees who have regular appointments (employment without end dates) may be sponsored by UTB for permanent residence according to certain criteria, Company guidelines, and upon approval by their supervisor and division director. Extensive informa4on about UTB’s sponsorship of permanent residence can be accessed once you arrive at ORNL. The first step to ini4a4ng sponsorship is to talk with your supervisor aier you have been on the UTB payroll for one full year. Certain forms must be submiXed to the Immigra4on Services Office and must be signed by your supervisor and division director. The Immigra4on Services Office will contact you regarding the next steps once the signed forms have been received.
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Sponsorship for Permanent Residence H-‐1B employees in limited-‐term jobs are not sponsored for permanent residence. This is because U.S. immigra4on law requires for most categories of sponsorship that there be an indefinite or “tenure-‐track” offer of employment, which is lacking in situa4ons of limited-‐term employment. Such individuals may, if they choose, retain their own aXorney to prepare and file permanent residence pe44ons. The only two categories where “self-‐sponsorship” is possible are the Na4onal Interest Waiver category and the Extraordinary Ability category. In each case, certain documenta4on must be provided with the pe44on that demonstrates that the individual is somehow par4cularly deserving as compared to peers. Individuals who are younger within their careers tend to have difficulty with this. Oien, it is a more prudent use of 4me and money to invest for a year or two in developing the documenta4on needed to support such permanent residence pe44ons (all of which tend also to advance one’s career), and THEN apply, rather than to immediately invest in the filing of a less-‐documented pe44on with a much lower chance of approval. Informa4on and guidance on the categories men4oned above and the permanent residence process can be found at hXp://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.
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Carol Johnson Immigra4on Specialist 4500N, Room G-‐001A
1-‐865-‐576-‐3909 [email protected]
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Mailing Address: Oak Ridge Na4onal Laboratory, Immigra4on Services Office, 1 Bethel Valley Road, PO Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-‐6203
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Sara Trammell Immigra4on Specialist 4500N, Room G-‐001B
1-‐865-‐241-‐9404 [email protected]
Nina Wilson Immigra4on Specialist 4500N, Room G-‐001C
1-‐865-‐241-‐3305 [email protected]
Please let us know if you have ques4ons or comments.
ORNL ImmigraAon Services Office
Vanessa Black Interna4onal Services Coordinator 4500N, Room G-‐008
1-‐865-‐576-‐9479 [email protected]
